i travel sketch live

Last Sunday we went to the mini park just 5 mins away from our apartment. We had beed waiting for this tree to turn all yellow this autumn but it did not. It is now winter and it's time has come. It was not a cold Sunday and I had the opportunity to just wear my slippers out and so I did.

We went for a quick morning side-trip to the Inaba Shrine last monday and found myself painting the shrine gate. It was a few degrees colder at the shrine than in the main city streets. There were less people so it was more quiet than usual although it is generally quiet in temple areas.

Earlier Today, I sketched these trees which was ten minutes away form our apartment. It feels great to sketch in pencil again and I think I will be sketching more in pencil this winter.

Yesterday we went to the beautiful Kegon-Ji Temple in Tanigumi where there were many old majestic pine trees. I was blessed to be able to sit under one of them as I painted two maple trees. I did not have enough time so I did the sketch in under 30mins and finished the painting at home today. The earth beneath the pine tree was covered in soft moss.  This was the awesome view when you look up from where I was sitting. I wanted to sketch this section first. Sketching the trees where my last choice but turned out to be the best because I got to sit under the old tree. That is Kikit of The Traveling Kit who took the pictures and helped me setup my video equipment. I used to just bring one notebook and a pen. Maybe I will do that again this winter. This was my second scene choice but it was raining a bit and there where no good places to sit on that had shelter from the rain. I finished painting today. This is the 20min timelapse Video of the i...

We went to walk the 7.9km Trail from Magome Juku to Tsumago along the Nakasendo Hiking Trail last Saturday. The Nakasendo Route was an old walking route that connected Kyoto and Tokyo during the Edo Period. At the Start of the trail there was a panoramic view point of Mt. Ena giving me the opportunity to paint the beautiful landscape. I had to do it fast because we want to make it to Tsumago Juku before sunset which was 430pm that day. We did make it just after sunset to Tsumago but the shops were already closing. There were many beautiful spots for drawing and painting and anybody living near that place should take the time to draw all the beautiful scenes. In Tsumago Juku there were still some shops open around 5pm (which was so dark already) and in those shops where water colour images sold as postcards, all were beautiful. We wanted to stay for the night but the inn (that would cost two persons 21,000Yen) was fully booked. The Egg Ramen at the Nakatsugawa Station (where ...

Photos by The Traveling Kit This is where I sat and painted. I wanted to sketch this log cabin but there was no more time. We had to go to the Castle before it closed. The View from the top of Gujo Castle. Under those Autmn foliage is where I painted Gujo Castle. Befor going home, Kikit persuaded me to do another sketch, I did not want to paint the Castle again and I liked the view of the tower better. Needs to be finished. I like to take a picture of the notebook placed at the spot where I sat. This is becoming a ritual for me. This is a quick time lapse of me painting the castle, I forgot to bring the tripod. Watch the beautiful clouds float by. This is the finished painting of the castle tower, done one week after. I just added more autumn foliage colours and extended the foreground tree trunk.

I think I over romanticised this sketch of the sakura trees. I painted this in my Live notebook . I brought a cam so I can do a time lapse video of me sketching, this is an experiment. Just a few minutes before the area I went to, there was this beautiful tree, I did not draw it, I jus looked up and stared.

This is my first drawing in my Love Notebook .

This is my first drawing on my Live Notebook .

My two notebooks arrived today. One is Love, which I will be using for pencil sketches, and the other is Live, which I will be using for watercolour sketches. Both were handcrafted in Singapore by persons with disabilities. The binding is beautiful and since both are hard-bound, it will definitely survive the way I squish stuff into my duffle bag. Learn more about the organisation that makes these notebooks: spd.org.sg Check out their other products and services: spd.org.sg/products.html View and order these notebooks on their Instagram page:  instagram.com/paintersjournal/ I am both thrilled and afraid to use these notebooks. Thrilled to fill them with drawings and afraid that my drawings will not be as beautiful as the notebooks that contain them.

this is the closest I will get to real (star wars) pod racing ever! Photos by The Traveling Kit

Photos by  The Traveling Kit

I did not have time to do a full watercolor sketch of these gardens so I only did a quick pencil sketch on my notebook and finished the sketch in watercolour at home. There were two gardens that I sketched when we visited Hikone Castle, the one on top was at their main big garden, the view above was found near the entrance, and the other one I painte d was near the exit but both are connected. This bigpond has a part where you can see the Hikone Castle in the background, If we ever comeback here in Autumn I want to do that view. The other garden below is a small intimate garden found at the back of the museum but you can only access it through the museum.

This is only a part of the Ena Gorge area which is a very scenic site,  and we plan to go back there this autmn

Photo by Kikit We were supposed to be on our way home, walking on a rainy sunday morning. What was to be a 30minute walk turned out to be a 2 hour sketching and picture-taking session.

I saw this Girl Sketching outside the temple of the Emerald Buddha in Thailand, I walked up to her and asked her if i could watch her sketch and she said it was ok. She was just starting to sketch the temple spires with her colored pencils so after a few minutes I left her to her sketching, I did not ask questions as to not disturb her. I certainly have seen more people sketching here in Japan last march than anywhere else I have been to. Most of the artists I saw here in Japan where mostly 50 years old up, judjing by the wrinkles on their faces and white hairs, which for me is not far off. I would like to see more young people doing outdoor drawings. I have a friend in Singapore who joins an urban sketching group there, maybe there are more young people in Singapore who love to sketch the outdoors.

photo by: The Traveling Kit

photos by: The Traveling Kit

Autumn is coming. Sketching the Spider Lilies at the creek just 3 minutes from our apartment just in Hozumi, Mizuho City Japan photos by:  The Traveling Kit

I found this Mural of a Man in spectacles sketches (I think he was sketching a temple) among the beautiful murals around the Temple of the Emerald Buddha in Bangkok Thailand. I do not know if the writing pertains to that scene but I would be happy if somebody translated it.